In the Harem of the Empress
by jessara40k
Summary: When Empress Yuffie receives a frightened boy as a diplomatic gift from the Nibel Ranges she gives him to her favourite concubine Sephiroth as a servant. After a while Sephiroth finds himself taking an interest in this Cloud. AU, het and yaoi
1. Chapter 1

"Sephiroth, come here"

The Empress called for him as she entered the harem, but so quietly that none of the other concubines would hear her, even with the relative quiet her presence brought. He could _feel_ the others staring at him as he walked over to attend her; it would help him keep their respect, whatever it was his mistress wanted. Not that he really cared how the other concubines felt about him, but he found it easier to keep them at an appropriate distance if they respected him, and preferably feared him at least a little too.

"My Empress?" He knelt, focusing on Yuffie, but noting the blond boy standing beside her from beneath his eyelashes as he bowed his head.

"Sephiroth. You know I don't like _you_ to kneel for me." He took the hand she was offering to help him up, and she used that to pull him to her for a deep kiss. He'd never tried to resist her, and he never would; his Empress would never know how much of the power she held over him existed only because he allowed it, in case it hurt her. She'd made his sacrifice in accepting her father's offer to protect his SOLDIERs into something that was even pleasurable at times, and he could never forget that.

"But I _want_ to show you my respect properly." They had this...near argument every time, but Yuffie never ordered him to stop kneeling to her, and he never used his 'childhood' as a weapon against her, and by now it had been pared down to a single sentence each.

"Your last servant deserted you, didn't he? So, you don't have a servant now, do you?"

"No, my Empress." Sephiroth didn't know what it was about him that drove his servants off, made them look for another concubine to claim them, or even left the harem altogether when he knew they'd fought to be appointed to it, but he was grateful for it. He _hated_ the way the servants fussed over him, and he didn't want anyone but his Empress to know that the wounds her mother had inflicted on him in the duel that killed her; the wounds that he was convinced came from his adolescent arrogance, that had kept him from battle for almost a year and that he believed had won the war for Wutai; had healed without leaving so much as a single scar.

"It isn't fitting that my favourite concubine doesn't have a servant." Yuffie's voice was louder now, it would carry to every concubine in earshot, and _this_ story was certain to be retold accurately. "And it is near an insult that so many of your servants have betrayed you. So, I have decided to change that." She pulled the boy forward from the spot he'd stepped back to while they talked, presenting him to Sephiroth. "This is Cloud. He was a gift to me, and now I'm giving him to you."

"Thank you, my Empress." He couldn't refuse her gift, not in front of the rest of the harem, so he accepted as graciously as he could, taking Cloud by the hand and pulling him closer, lifting his face to inspect him, using two fingers under his chin. "He's pretty, but he looks...fragile. Would you care to see him settled in with me?"

"Yes. Then you can entertain me for a while." She ran a casually possessive hand over his arm as they walked to Sephiroth's quarters. "And I need to explain a few things about Cloud when we've got some privacy." She _could_ have told him without waiting, by pitching her voice low, the way she was now, but the Empress didn't like using that trick for more than a sentence or two.

"Cloud, your quarters are through there." The boy just looked at him blankly, instead of taking the hint and leaving, and Sephiroth frowned in confusion - he _could_ tell that it wasn't deliberate disobedience, but he didn't know what it was. And Yuffie just laughed at him, while he looked at her in faint hurt.

"He doesn't speak Wutaian Seph, just Continental." Sephiroth should have thought of that for himself, but it had been so long since he'd spoken Continental except to his Empress, who needed to be bilingual that he'd forgotten that Wutaian was only the first language for people born in Wutai, and he'd always assumed it was normal to speak more than one language. But from Yuffie's attitude the opposite was true.

"I'll teach you to speak Wutaian then. You sleep in there." He pointed at the door to the left again, and this time Cloud nodded with a small smile.

"Yes sir. And...thank you. For promising to teach me." Cloud left the room before Sephiroth could say anything in response, but the Empress was patting the seat beside her, so he let it go, and joined her on the couch. When she leaned against him he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, despite his surprise, and waited until she was ready to speak to him.

"The Nibel Ranges sent Cloud to me as a gift, part of the negotiations we've got going with them now." In other words the...Nibel Ranges was trying to curry favour with the Empress by offering her a new concubine. It made sense, Wutai was the larger of the two countries that hadn't been taken over by ShinRa and been wrecked by its destruction, and this Nibel Ranges was probably a new country that had only just gotten organised. "But he doesn't have the self-confidence it would take to cope as one of my concubines." So she thought he'd be abused if she'd accepted him as a concubine. Sephiroth could see how that could happen.

"But as my servant he's under my protection, and if you ever do want to play with him then you have easy access. I understand." Yuffie didn't look happy with his conclusion, but she didn't tell him that he was wrong either, and he could see the tension in the set of her shoulders. "Would you like to take a bath now?"

"Yes, to start with." She took a deep breath, clearly steeling herself for something, although Sephiroth couldn't imagine why. "Then there's something I need to talk about before we do anything else."

"As my Empress wishes." There was a flicker of discomfort across her face, but surely she _knew_ that she had only to ask and he would do whatever she wanted.

"Seph, I've told you that you're allowed to use my name before, so why won't you do it until we're making love?" Yuffie was nearly whining as she continued speaking. "You used to use my name before the other concubines arrived."

"That's the point Yuffie. You don't let them use your name, and I don't want to seem to flaunt how much you favour me." He shrugged, he knew that the clans didn't like it that Yuffie preferred him to the men they'd given to her, and he wasn't going to make it harder for her by providing those concubines with things to complain about when they wrote to their families.

"Thank you then." From the look on her face she hadn't considered that. "But you don't need to be so discreet when it's just us."

"I understand, and if it bothers you that much then I'll use your name when we're alone together." He hadn't wanted to get into the habit, in case he forgot himself in public, but Yuffie looked happy about his promise. "Shall I have Cloud run our bath, while I wash you?"

"Yes." So he called for Cloud, and told him how to prepare the bath when Yuffie was there while she used the toilet and got undressed.

"When you've finished that go and wait in the lounge and Joto will measure you for some better clothes Cloud." Sephiroth smiled to see Yuffie walking into the bathroom naked as she spoke, and stripped himself as Cloud responded, offering a nod of approval when Cloud used Wutaian to address her as 'Empress', an anxious look on his face.

"You can take these into my bedroom as you go, just put them on a chair for now, I'll show you what to do with them later."

"Yes sir." That response, in Continental, it brought back memories for Sephiroth, not particularly good ones, but...he'd deal with that later, for now it was enough that Cloud was showing him respect. He focused on Yuffie, washing her clean, starting at her throat and working down, keeping his touch platonic, rather than sensual, and then let her do the same for him. Cloud had finished filling the bath by then, and left, so Sephiroth helped Yuffie climb into it before joining her.

"Ahhh." The sound Yuffie made as she sank into the hot water was half a sigh, and half a moan of pleasure. "That's _good_. Hotter than you usually run for me too."

"Not _too_ hot then? I told Cloud to run the bath as hot as he'd be able to stand it, but I always erred on the side of caution with you."

"Because I can't stand as much heat as you can, I know, and I wasn't really complaining, just..."

"At least I know one thing Cloud can do for me better than my previous servants ever did. They couldn't believe you'd really want a bath even as hot as those _I_ used to run for you, let alone this hot." And he'd never once managed to convince one of his servants to run a bath as hot as he'd prefer. They relaxed together, talking about things that didn't really matter, until the water had cooled, then Yuffie climbed out of the bath and Sephiroth followed her through to his bedroom. He stretched out on the bed beside her, and waited to hear what it was she felt he had to speak with _him_ about as she played with his hair.

"My advisors have been dropping hints about how I need to start trying for an heir." And what did this have to do with him? Sephiroth didn't ask the obvious question, but Yuffie fell silent instead of continuing, so he offered her the answer that made sense to him.

"And you wanted to let me know why you'd have less time for us now that you're taking a consort? Thank you for being so considerate of my feelings."

"What? No!" Even Sephiroth could hear the outrage in her voice as she sat up. "I want you to be the father. I...you won't be allowed to really _act_ as the father, but...you'd give me the strongest daughters I could ever have."

"Ah...I am honoured, but...it won't cause problems? Choosing me to sire your first child over your other concubines?" One of those who came from the major clans might expect the honour, and he knew that Wutaians cared a lot about bloodlines, his 'tainted blood' was one of the things the native concubines held against him most.

"No." Yuffie smiled as she shook her head. "No-one will expect me to say who the father of my daughter is, and even if it's obvious no-one is allowed to comment on her parentage. And if it's the whole blood purity thing you're worried about, don't be. That doesn't matter for me - since I'm considered to be semi-divine in my own right it compensates for any 'impurity' in the father, especially if the father's a war prize." Which Sephiroth _was_, technically speaking. She was calm now, and she ran a hand gently down the side of his face. "And besides, you've probably got some Wutaian blood, from the shape of your eyes." That was news to Sephiroth, but whoever his parents were they'd left him to Hojo, and so meant _nothing_ to him. "Sephiroth, if you are unhappy about this, if you don't want to father my daughters, just say so. I'll understand."

Except she clearly wouldn't, not really, leaving Sephiroth only one way to answer her. "So long as you are confident it will not harm you, or our child, will not affect your authority, or, when the time comes, hers, I am willing. But...I might not be fertile, I'm not entirely sure of everything Hojo did to me."

"We'll try for a year, and if I'm not pregnant by the end of the year I'll try someone else then." She hadn't really addressed Sephiroth's concerns, but he knew he couldn't press her any further.

"Thank you for honouring me so Yuffie." He hesitated, then pushed up to kiss her, a kiss she only responded to briefly before pushing away, reluctantly.

"I ordered a meal for us; it should be delivered around now. And Cloud can serve us, unless you object?"

"No, why would I?" He helped Yuffie to put a robe on before they made their way to his dinning room.

_Better_ clothes? Cloud had already been given better clothes than he'd ever had at Nibelheim in the three days since he'd been handed over to the Empress. He shouldn't be letting his thoughts wander like this, and he quickly bowed to the Empress.

"Yes jotei-sama." He _hoped_ that meant 'Empress', and when he looked at Sephiroth to see if he'd got it right the man nodded, a faint look of approval on his face, before he gave Cloud another order.

"You can take these into my bedroom as you go, just put them on a chair for now, I'll show you what to do with them later."

"Yes sir." Sephiroth didn't seem very happy about being addressed as 'sir', and Cloud finished running the bath, then quickly gathered up the clothes he'd discarded, carrying them through to the bedroom. He folded the slippery clothes up before leaving them on a chair, and then went back into the lounge to wait for this Joto.

"Cloud Strife?" The man who spoke as he entered the room had to be Joto. Cloud made a swift assessment of him as he stood; the same height as Cloud, perhaps an inch shorter, but broader across the shoulders, with heavy muscles that Cloud doubted _he'd_ ever achieve.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Strip." Cloud blinked in surprise at the blunt command, but he obeyed without question - he knew better than to defy his betters. "I will just be measuring you now." As he spoke Joto matched action to word, taking Cloud's measurements and writing them down. "The final decision about how you will be dressed lies with Sephiroth-dono, but is there anything you would like me to consider?"

"Ah...please, nothing that...shows too much skin." Like the indecent things he'd seen on some of the men here in this harem. "And...nothing fancy. Comfortable? And practical?"

"Hmmm...that shouldn't be much of a problem. How does something like the clothes Sephiroth-dono wears, only in cotton and a single colour, sound?"

"Perfect! Thank you." Sephiroth seemed to like loose trousers and tunics with long sleeves, a style Cloud liked, especially if he wouldn't have to wear those patterns. "Please sir, why do you call him Sephiroth-dono?"

"Ah...dono is an honorific, indicating someone of higher status, usually at least a minor noble. We add them to the end of people's names, generally not using an honorific is a sign of rudeness or intimacy." And Joto hadn't used one for Cloud...so why was he being rude? The man seemed to read his mind. "I forgot that you would be living among us, one of the exceptions is outsiders, they tend to be uncomfortable with honorifics, so we don't use them for outsiders, Strife-san."

"I see...Joto-san?" He _hoped_ that was the right honorific to use, and Joto didn't look angry to hear it. "Is -sama one of these honorifics?"

"Yes, but you should only ever use it for the Empress. You're not likely to ever meet the clan matriarchs, and they're the only other people with the right to be addressed as -sama."

"Thank you for the advice Joto-san." Cloud would follow it as fully as he could. "If I might ask, what does -san indicate?"

"It's a...neutral honorific, indicating respect, without implying any particular ranking." Joto stepped back then, closing his notebook. "That's it, you can get dressed now."

"Thank you." He was saying that a lot, but the people here were giving him more help than he'd ever had before, enough help to make him suspicious even if he couldn't do anything about that. He dressed quickly, looking back at his new bedroom wistfully - he hadn't had the chance to put his clothes away, or do more than glance into the attached shower and toilet rooms.

"Go ahead." He sounded amused as he pretty much dismissed Cloud. "You probably haven't had time to settle in yet. I'll call you when they come out."

"Thank you again Joto-san." Cloud didn't want to impose on the man's kindness though, so he only took the time to put his clothes away, before going back out into the lounge to wait for the Empress and his new master.

"You didn't need to hurry back out Strife-san."

"I appreciate your generosity Joto-san, but I didn't have that much to put away, and that was what I really wanted to do. I...didn't expect to have a shower attached to my bedroom here." He was just a servant after all, the Empress had made that clear to him - and it had been a great comfort to know she wasn't interested in him - she was too intimidating.

"Sephiroth-dono _is_ the Empress' favourite after all." Reason enough for _his_ quarters to be luxurious, but Cloud hadn't expected that luxury to extend to his own room. But he didn't say anything, just sat and waited, mentally listing all the reasons he was lucky to have been sent as tribute to the Empress of Wutai.

When Sephiroth and the Empress came out of the bedroom Cloud was so lost in thought that it surprised him, but he stood up just a second or so after Joto did, and neither of them seemed offended. Joto immediately went to speak with Sephiroth, while the Empress beckoned to him.

"Yes jotei-sama?"

"A meal will be delivered shortly, and we want you to serve it to us. Wait in the dining room until it arrives."

"As you wish jotei-sama. Through there?" The door opposite his bedroom was the only one he hadn't explored to some extent, so once the Empress nodded he bowed as deeply as he could and left, thanking her quietly.

Sephiroth supposed he should start explaining his duties to Cloud at once, as well as making sure he understood that Sephiroth didn't want anyone to know that he didn't scar. He'd been careful never to undress in front of his previous servants, since he didn't trust them, and expected to lose them, and it had given him a reputation for modesty of all things. But, from what Yuffie had said when she presented Cloud to him, his new servant was effectively a slave, and he was likely to remain almost as much of an outsider among the harem servants as Sephiroth was in the harem itself.

"Follow me Cloud." He led the boy into his bedroom, letting his robe fall to the floor as he moved. "I'll show you where everything goes later, so you can keep my quarters tidy, but first there are a few things you need to understand."

"Yes, Sephiroth-dono." Cloud's respectful response reminded him that he really should start using some sort of suffix for his servant, he was sure part of the reason he was such an outsider was that he _didn't_ automatically add some sort of suffix to everyone's names.

"You are _never_ to mention anything about what I look like naked. It is commonly believed that I have terrible scars from my life before I entered the harem, and I do not want that belief disproved." He waited for Cloud to nod, indicating his understanding before continuing. "Outside of my quarters I will only ever speak to you in Wutaian. You are young enough that you should be able to learn the language by hearing it, and from the context, but in here I am willing to explain what particular words or phrases mean."

"Yes Sephiroth-dono, but...I _won't_ be able to talk to anyone out in the main harem then, so how do I explain that? I don't want to be rude." That was a more intelligent question than he'd expected, and Sephiroth smiled at the boy, just a little.

"Before you leave my quarters I intend to see that you have one phrase down perfectly Cloud-kun. Now repeat after me." He paused, thinking about the simplest way to get the point across and pronounced each Wutaian word with a care he'd last used when he was learning the language. "Forgive me. I do not speak Wutaian yet." Cloud only got through the first sentence before making a mistake, but he managed to pronounce it acceptably after five attempts, and if he had a poor accent it would be additional proof of his inability to really speak Wutaian.

"Sephiroth-dono, what does -kun mean?"

"An inferior, but an inferior you respect enough to be polite to." Sephiroth warned Cloud never to touch his weapons, then quickly showed him where to put his clean clothes, the tunics and trousers folded away into trunks and the robes hanging in his one wardrobe.

"Here. Laundry is done centrally. I do not expect you to have the specialised knowledge you would need to wash my clothes correctly or to repair them when they need it." He understood that silk had to be washed differently to normal cloth, and all the fancy dying and embroidery on his outfits made for extra work as well. "All you need to do is put my used clothes into one of these bags and take it to the laundry area, handing it over to one of the workers there. You can put your dirty clothes in as well."

"Thank you Sephiroth-dono. Shall I put these in my room then?"

"Not yet. You can do that while I'm bathing." He shifted back to Wutaian to give his next command. "Run me a hot bath."

"Ahh...Sephiroth-dono, do you want it as hot as it was yesterday?"

He switched back to Cloud's language to explain. "No. I asked for a hot bath, meaning I want you to just use the hot water tap. If I want it the same as it was yesterday I'll ask for 'a warm bath for the Empress', or just 'a warm bath' - although that's unlikely." He'd used Wutaian for the two phrases he would probably use to describe what he wanted, and he could see the understanding grow in Cloud's eyes - the boy was more intelligent than he'd expected.

"I don't think I'll have a problem remembering what sort of bath you want when the Empress is here, but I'm not sure I'll be able to distinguish the other two commands."

"You'll hear me asking for a 'hot bath' most often, so if it sounds different I just want a 'warm bath', but you can ask if you're uncertain."

"Thank you Sephiroth-dono." Cloud _bowed_ before he left for the bathroom, and Sephiroth glanced over his room before following, wondering what else he could have Cloud do. He lived simply enough that not having a servant had never been a problem for him before, except that it upset Yuffie that he didn't have all the status symbols he merited as her favourite concubine.

Cloud was busy running his bath when he reached the bathroom and Sephiroth decided that his hair needed washing today, taking care of that at the shower while he cleaned himself thoroughly before soaking properly. He just shut his eyes, and let his mind go blank, blocking the world and everything else out, not worrying about what he was going to do with a servant or about how it would affect Yuffie's power base to have a child with him. It took him a while, and he had to resort to counting breaths in the end, but eventually he was relaxed, and he stayed in the bath until the water was cool.

He wrapped one towel around his hair, and a second one around his body before moving through to his bedroom and calling for Cloud when he realised the boy had finished working some time earlier.

"Yes Sephiroth-dono?"

"Dry my hair for me please. There are more towels in the cupboard in the bathroom for when this one is too wet to use."

"Yes, sir." Sephiroth must have flinched, or shown _some_ sort of reaction to that as he sat down, because Cloud went still, and visibly considered what to do next. "You...don't like it when I call you 'sir', do you Sephiroth-dono?"

"No, I don't." Should he elaborate? Cloud might not ask...but he probably would, better to settle his curiosity quickly. "It reminds me of my life before I belonged to the Empress."

"Ah, I see." And Sephiroth almost thought the boy _did_ understand why he didn't want those reminders, with his next words giving weight to that idea. "I'm not sure exactly how to dry your hair fully."

"Divide it up into sections, as small as you can manage. There's a wide-toothed comb on the bedside table you can use for that. Work on each section individually, and comb through it while you work."

"I understand Sephiroth-dono." Cloud unwrapped the towel from his hair, and used it to vigorously rub it partly dry before draping it over Sephiroth's shoulders and pulling his hair out to lie on top of it. "Let me get some more towels and the comb please." Sephiroth was pleased to learn that wasn't actually a question, as Cloud didn't wait for permission, the boy would need to have some initiative, which his previous servants sometimes hadn't dared use. Cloud did a remarkably good job of drying his hair for him, showing more patience than any of his previous servants had, and more than he tended to have himself - Sephiroth didn't have any problem with going out into the rest of the harem with wet hair, but the other concubines seemed to think there was something wrong with him for doing that.

He was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of Cloud's stomach rumbling, and he twisted around in his seat to look at the boy.

"Have you eaten today Cloud-kun?"

"No Sephiroth-dono."

"Why not?" Was he missing something here? He usually had a selection of cold breakfast foods delivered in the morning, before most of the other concubines woke up, but Yuffie had ordered a hot breakfast delivered this morning for the two of them to eat together.

"Because no one brought me anything to eat, and I didn't know where to look for something I'd be allowed to eat."

"Did you have anything to eat last evening then?" He hadn't thought to ask about whether a meal was delivered for Cloud this morning, just assumed the Empress would have given the appropriate orders, and maybe she'd neglected him at dinner last night as well. Sephiroth had the unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling that he'd been negligent about his new servant's welfare, and he didn't like it.

"Yes. You didn't eat everything on the serving plates, I ate from those afterwards." Cloud sounded as if he thought that was normal, even a good thing, and Sephiroth wasn't sure how to feel about that. Cloud smiled at him and shrugged casually. "It's one of the perks of serving at the Empress' table, eating the same food served to her and her guests, and it wasn't as if you didn't leave enough for my meal." But their breakfast had been brought on a tray that he could take to the Empress in bed, the way he always did when she stayed overnight.

"I see. I'll show you where you can get food at any time of the day - although there's usually more choice between midday and two. And I'll show you to the laundry area on the way there."

"Thank you Sephiroth-dono." Cloud left, presumably to pick up the bag with their laundry, and Sephiroth dressed quickly before joining him in the lounge.

"Ah...should I have stayed to help you dress?"

"No. I'm not helpless, and I don't wear anything complicated enough to required assistance to put it on." Except for formal kimono on the rare occasions Yuffie felt the need to have her concubines attend her at court, and even then Yuffie sent one of her servants to help him and he managed the first layers himself, hiding his lack of scars. But he had to wear those, and he despised the elaborate confections most of the other concubines seemed to prefer. Cloud didn't say anything in response and Sephiroth led him first to the laundry area, then to the servants' break room. When he reached the concubine's dinning room he selected his own meal, and ordered dinner for the two of them for that evening, since he knew Yuffie wouldn't be coming to see him again for another week.

Cloud still couldn't quite believe how well Sephiroth-dono was treating him, even after three months belonging to the older man. He knew for a fact that none of the other servants were allowed to eat with their masters, for instance, and he'd seen some of the things that Kouri-sempai had to wear to keep Ryoga-dono happy. And his workload was relatively light too, Sephiroth-dono didn't seem to expect more than light cleaning and running errands from him - as well as studying whatever Sephiroth-dono set him to learn, but even there his master was always willing to help and explain things to him. Most of the other 'important' concubines, the ones with little suites like Sephiroth-dono had were much higher maintenance than he was, and cared a lot more about showing off their status than he did. They reminded him a bit of the way Mayor Lockheart had acted in Nibelheim, throwing their weight around, and making sure their inferiors knew their places - Ryoga-dono had actually wanted Cloud to address him as _-sama_ the way Kouri-sempai did!

But he'd backed down when Cloud had made it clear that Sephiroth-dono approved of his refusal to use -sama for anyone but the Empress, and perhaps when he realised that Cloud used the exact same honorific for his master that he was willing to use for Ryoga-dono. Cloud had half expected that he'd need Sephiroth-dono to back him up, the way the man had promised to do if anyone tried to bully him when he'd learned enough of the language to communicate, even slowly and with difficulty, but the simple mention of Sephiroth-dono's name had been enough. When he'd mentioned it later that day Sephiroth-dono had laughed, and said that a lot of the way the other 'important' concubines acted came from insecurity, that they flaunted their power to remind everyone that they had it, out of fear of their inferiors.

That conversation had given him a lot to think about, even if he didn't believe the mayor could have ever felt threatened by him in any way his mother might have scared the men of Nibelheim, and they could have treated him the way they did because they wanted to hurt _her_. He could easily believe that the traditionalists in Nibelheim had been intimidated by a woman who insisted on all the rights of a man, who lived by herself after her husband died, instead of moving back to her family, or joining his. She'd never really let her pain show, but thinking back on it, the way her face always hardened when he came back to her with injuries had to mean she was hiding something, and they'd started to ignore him after she died.

Cloud shook his head, dismissing his recollections - this wasn't the time for wool-gathering - he had to put all the clothes the Empress had left on Sephiroth-dono's bed away and get some clean towels delivered. He wasn't sure why they always seemed to be running low on towels for Sephiroth-dono and the Empress - he took them in to the laundry on the same schedule that he took Sephiroth-dono's clothes, and his own, but he never got them back in time. It gave him something else to do at least, but first he began folding away Sephiroth-dono's clothes. He didn't know why the Empress had rejected all of Sephiroth-dono's kimono as inadequate, but she had, and he was relieved to see that at least they hadn't become creased from the pile she'd left them in.

After collecting some fresh towels and putting them away Cloud realised he had some time to amuse himself, and it was probably long enough for him to indulge in his secret pleasure. Sephiroth-dono's weapons were _beautiful_, especially the long daggers - they reminded him of the daggers his mother had owned, and stated to teach him to use before she died, only these looked _much_ more expensive. He'd wanted to keep his mother's daggers after she died, but he hadn't been able to find them - she hadn't been wearing them in the hidden sheathes she'd always carried them in when her body was returned to him, and they hadn't been in the house. He'd tried to get them back a few weeks later when he'd seen two of the biggest bullies - and self-proclaimed 'hunters' - wearing them, but they'd denied stealing them, and no-one would admit to knowing they'd belonged to his mother.

"What precisely are you doing, Cloud?" Sephiroth-dono was angry, and Cloud found the cold tone in his voice a _lot_ scarier than he'd have found it if Sephiroth-dono had shouted. He was _used_ to shouting, or he had been at least.

"I...just looking Sephiroth-dono. I haven't touched them, I wouldn't!" Cloud scooted back, away from the chest, still on his knees. Something in Sephiroth-dono's face softened then, and he tilted his head to one side, coming to crouch in front of him.

"You open the chest when I'm not here and then just kneel there _looking_ at my weapons?" Sephiroth-dono's voice had softened to match his expression, and Cloud thought he could hear the faintest hint of curiosity there. "You do realise how ridiculous that sounds Cloud-kun?"

"Yes Sephiroth-dono, I know." He'd used -kun; that had to mean he believed Cloud. "But I wouldn't touch them, I just wanted to look at them. They're all so beautiful."

"I...see. Come here then and tell me which ones you like best."

"The paired long daggers. I...they remind me of my mother."

"Your mother? Why?" There was a look of total confusion on Sephiroth-dono's face now, which didn't make much sense. He _belonged_ to the Empress, and Cloud had seen that _she_ had women as her guards, so it couldn't be too odd for women to be fighters here in Wutai.

"Because she had a pair like them." The confusion was shifting to curiosity as Cloud spoke, and he much preferred that. "Not as good I guess, but they looked the same. She said that her grandmother gave them to her."

"Did she know how to use them then?"

"Yes, Sephiroth-dono." Should he expand on that? Yes, he probably should. "She was teaching me to use them before she died and they were stolen."

"I see." Sephiroth stood then, and Cloud knew that this conversation was over. "Run me a hot bath."


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud had just revealed more personal information than he had in the past three months, and Sephiroth wasn't sure what to do about it. He had to wonder where Cloud's mother had come from, since he knew that women in the Nibel Ranges had very few rights, and he couldn't imagine any Wutaian woman ever agreeing to live there - although her grandmother was probably Wutaian if she'd been able to give her a set of paired daggers. He'd decide exactly what to do later, although teaching him some more about how to use a pair of daggers like that would probably help with Cloud's self-confidence issues, for now Sephiroth just let himself relax into the hot water.

"Did your mother teach you any of the practice forms to use _without_ the daggers?" Cloud started a little when Sephiroth spoke, he normally stayed silent when Cloud was working on his hair, but the boy responded after a moment's thought.

"Yes Sephiroth-dono. That was how she started my lessons, but it's been a year since I've practised them, maybe longer."

"Then tomorrow morning I'll watch you go through them, and after that I want you to spend at least an hour every day working on those practice forms. They _can_ be adapted to actually defend yourself even without the weapons, if you need to."

"I know, sort of. At least my mother said it worked that way, just, I...wasn't very good at that." Sephiroth suspected that was because Cloud had usually been fighting men older, bigger and stronger than he was, since he was sure the boy was small compared to most of the people from the Nibel Ranges, but he didn't comment on that.

"You'll improve. I don't think you'll need to defend yourself in the harem, but it will keep you in shape and improve your co-ordination." He'd never been permitted to be uncoordinated, but he'd seen that Cloud was clumsy sometimes, not often, but he'd seen Cloud stumble once or twice, and he'd seen bruises on him occasionally - and they were in the wrong places to have come from people, which had been his first thought.

"Yes Sephiroth-dono." They didn't need to say anything else, and three days later when Yuffie came to him again he asked for some blunted daggers that Cloud could use for his training.

"Of course. Tell me when you think he's good enough for real weapons, and I'll give him a set of those as well."

"As you wish." He wasn't sure _why_ Yuffie was offering that, but he appreciated it - and belatedly he realised that he hadn't shown that. "And thank you for being so generous."

"If you think he's capable of handling weapons he should have them. Traditionally my favourite concubine and his servant should be armed, even if I don't arm the rest of the harem." Yuffie laughed then, a faint bitterness in her voice. "My other concubines couldn't handle weapons, but my favourite needs to be able to defend himself, in case someone gets the idea she can use you as leverage against me, and because you're a war prize you'd be entitled to your weapons anyway."

"I...hadn't realised that. Cloud is doing well at the unarmed forms and I can adapt them to teach him to fight without weapons if it will cause you trouble that I'm teaching him how to use blades. I only decided on the daggers because his mother had started to teach him how to use those before she died."

"No, it won't cause problems." Yuffie took hold of his hand and placed it on her stomach. "When I announce this, and that you're the father it will be public confirmation that you're my favourite concubine. It's expected that I arm you, and your servant under those circumstances. Although...I should probably put off giving Cloud the real daggers until _after_ I've given birth." In case she miscarried, or the child was stillborn no doubt. She looked unhappy somehow, so Sephiroth kissed her and pulled back with an inviting smile, relieved when she smiled back at him and started exploring his body.

Sephiroth couldn't help feeling a bit offended when Yuffie sent a woman to teach Cloud how to use the paired daggers after she'd announced her pregnancy, but he didn't object, especially since he knew that the Empress had to really trust Kurenai-san, and _him_, or she'd have sent a man. He supposed that sending a teacher with more experience in that particular set of weapon than he had was a good idea, as well as being another way of demonstrating how much she favoured him.

Still, he made sure to be there when she was teaching Cloud, at least as much as he could, and he noticed that she was pushing Cloud a _lot_ harder than he had. He was reluctant to interfere, since he _knew_ how bad he was at judging what normal humans were capable of, but when he realised Cloud was getting _more_ clumsy, instead of less, he resolved to speak to her.

"Cloud-kun, go run a warm bath for yourself while I speak with Kurenai-san."

"Ah, yes Sephiroth-dono." Cloud looked startled, eyes wide, but he still nodded obediently before turning to leave. Sephiroth wasn't sure what had surprised the boy; he'd started sharing a bath with him to ease his muscles after his second lesson with Kurenai-san.

"What did you want to discuss Sephiroth-dono?" She sounded almost annoyed to have to speak with him, and he resisted the urge to snap at her in response.

"Do you have to push him so hard Kurenai-san?"

"What precisely do you mean?" Her voice went cold, almost distant, and Sephiroth could recognise that as a danger sign of some sort. "Were you expecting me to go easy on him, to let him do as little work as he wants to and teach him to be slow and clumsy? The Empress told me to teach your servant how to fight and use the paired daggers. She did not instruct me to coddle him, no matter what you might choose to do."

"Did she instruct you to exhaust him to the point where he can barely feed himself?" That had only happened the once, yesterday, but it had reminded Sephiroth far too much of Hojo, and he refused to allow it to happen again.

"Are you sure that isn't because _you_ overwork him?" Sephiroth's vision went white for a moment, and when he could see again he had Kurenai pinned against the wall, his hand on her throat.

"How dare you? You work Cloud-kun into exhaustion, never once praise him, no matter how desperately he tries to satisfy you, berate him for the slightest error, and then, when I call you on it you blame _me_ for what you've done to him? Get out. Your services are no longer required." He shook her once and dropped her, turning on his heel as he stalked away contemptuously. She hadn't even tried to fight back against him, he knew she had no words to defend herself, and watching her with Cloud had reminded him of what he'd learned from Yuffie's guards before she'd had to put him away in her harem. He could teach Cloud himself, the boy would probably prefer that, at least he wouldn't be abusing Cloud the way Kurenai had. And he'd tell Yuffie exactly _why_ he didn't want that bitch teaching Cloud again if she had the gall to complain about it.

"Sephiroth-dono?" Cloud looked surprisingly uncomfortable waiting for him in his bath, and Sephiroth wasn't sure why, but it probably didn't really matter.

"Cloud-kun, I'll be taking over your lessons again. You were learning a lot better under my training than you have been recently, and there's nothing Kurenai can teach you that I can't." Or if there was she hadn't shown it yet.

"Ah...yes Sephiroth-dono, but...won't the Empress be angry about you sending Kurenai-sensei away?"

"I...don't know." He didn't think she would be angry, not after he explained _why_ he'd sent her away and he thought about Cloud's question as he stripped. "But if she is she'll be angry with _me_, not with you, and I'm sure she'll understand when I explain why I got rid of Kurenai."

"Yes Sephiroth-dono. And...thank you."

"Don't thank me. I let this go on too long, I assumed she knew what she was doing, that she wouldn't be pushing you if you couldn't handle it, and I was wrong. I should have said something to Yuffie earlier and let her deal with it." Sephiroth pinned his hair up with quick angry motions as he responded to Cloud's gratitude, knowing that he wasn't being very gracious about it, but not really caring - he didn't have to pretend about anything with Cloud. And he should have seen it earlier, recognised how similar Kurenai's teaching methods were to the way Hojo had trained him, only he'd half thought that was _normal_, that it had only been so hard for him because he was so young when he'd learned to fight. He washed himself and joined Cloud in the bath, taking hold of his wrist to keep him from getting out at once.

"Cloud-kun, you don't have to go if you don't want to. You need this more than I do."

"Ah...yes Sephiroth-dono." Cloud obediently settled back into the bath, yawning but clearly relaxing and letting his aches soak away into the warm water. Sephiroth couldn't really relax himself, because he knew he'd put Yuffie in a difficult situation, or he might have depending on how Kurenai reacted, and the water wasn't as hot as he'd prefer. But there hadn't really been anything else he could do, not without exposing Cloud to even more abuse.

"Take a nap when you get out of the bath Cloud-kun. You need the rest."

"Yes Sephiroth-dono."

"Just stay here today Cloud-kun."

"Yes Sephiroth-dono." Cloud wasn't sure why Sephiroth-dono didn't want him to leave his quarters today; after all he'd insisted that Cloud practise with his daggers for an hour every day since Sephiroth-dono had got rid of Kurenai-sensei, even though Sephiroth-dono had been forbidden to leave his quarters and couldn't supervise him; but he thought it might have something to do with the two strange servants who'd arrived yesterday and covered the walls and floor in one corner of the central room with canvas. Sephiroth-dono was acting oddly resigned, but at least there wasn't the hint of impatience he'd shown since being forbidden to leave his quarters.

"Would you like me to brush your hair out Sephiroth-dono?" Cloud enjoyed doing that for Sephiroth-dono, and it always seemed to relax him.

"Yes. And braid it afterwards." That wasn't something Sephiroth had asked for before, but Cloud knew where to get a band to tie it off with so he got what he needed and set to work, letting his mind wander as he worked. Afterwards he settled down at Sephiroth-dono's feet, talking about nothing important really, just a distraction while they waited for whatever Sephiroth was expecting.

"Cloud-kun, go into your room, and stay there until I call for you."

"Yes Empress." He glanced at the light wire flail on her hip warily, but obediently left, hearing her instruct the servant with her to put the box he was carrying in one corner and leave before he shut the door. He needed something to do, to keep his mind off wondering what was happening in the other room, and he pulled out his brush and some paper to practice his writing in the Wutaian alphabets. It took a lot of concentration, enough that he wasn't speculating about what was going on next door, but the way he always flinched at the sort of meaty crack-thuds he could hear through his door ruined his efforts anyway.

"Cloud-kun. I need you to see something." He obeyed the implied order, walking through to the main room, and froze when he saw the bloody ruin the Empress had made of Sephiroth-dono's back. "Come here." He'd hesitated too long, and the Empress glared at him from where she knelt beside Sephiroth's head as she spoke.

"You needed to see this, and I couldn't warn you in case you let something slip." Sephiroth-dono turned his head to speak to Cloud and began slowly lifting himself up to his hands and knees.

"Yes Sephiroth-dono." So Sephiroth-dono wasn't supposed to know ahead of time what the Empress was going to do to him, and he wanted Cloud to let the current condition of his back slip, or he wouldn't need to see it. "Empress, are the bandages and dressings I'll need to take care of Sephiroth-dono in that box?"

"Yes. I gave him a painkiller before I started. It hasn't kicked in yet, or I don't think it has, but..."

"Yuffie, it's alright." Sephiroth-dono was actually smiling at her, and stroking her hand comfortingly as he sat back on his knees. "I've got a high pain threshold anyway, and I know a _lot_ of pain management techniques." Something about the look in Sephiroth-dono's eyes told Cloud not to ask about that and he knelt to open the box, pulling out the two jars of ointment first, and frowning over the thought of how _much_ the Empress thought Sephiroth-dono would need in the way of bandages and dressings.

"Use the ointment in the white jar first, it's an antiseptic. The ointment in the blue jar's a painkiller."

"Yes Empress." At least she'd brought everything Cloud would need to take care of Sephiroth-dono, and he'd had some training in how to deal with this before he'd been given to him, even if Cloud hadn't realised why at the time.

"Yuffie, maybe you should go and take care of your flail while Cloud-kun does this?"

"Yes...I _hope_ I won't need to use it again, but...you were right...there'd have been too many questions if I'd just used a whip. I lost count of how many of my nobles _reminded_ me that 'a war prize needs a strong hand' in the first day after Kurenai made her accusations so publicly." She leaned forward and kissed Sephiroth-dono almost chastely on the lips before she stood and walked through to his bedroom and Cloud focused on taking care of his master.

"Cloud-kun, after the first time Yuffie had to punish one of her other concubines I insisted that we had to decide what she'd do if I did something she had to punish me for. She wanted to just use a whip if it came up, but I knew that it would cause problems, and _I_ told her exactly what I could handle." Sephiroth-dono glanced over one shoulder at Cloud, and shrugged his other shoulder. "I knew that if I ever did feel the need to break the rules it would be over something fairly serious and I heal _very_ fast. I should be fully healed in no more than three days." He'd known what was going to happen to him when he sent Kurenai-sensei away for pushing Cloud so hard, and he'd still done it? He couldn't hide his shock and guilt, and he didn't even try to do it as he sat back on his heels after fastening the last bandage.

"Cloud-kun, don't blame yourself. I should have seen what she was doing earlier and told Yuffie about it, instead of assaulting her."

"And I should have checked up on her to make sure she actually _was_ being as gentle as I asked her to be. You don't have the background to deal with that level of intensity. Do you have any other ideas about how to get Cloud-kun the training he needs? You don't really have the experience you'd need to teach him more than the basics."

"I...hadn't realised you were expecting him to learn more than that. For now what I can teach him should be enough, and if you send someone to teach _me_ the refinements I can teach them to him as and when he's ready for them."

"Any preferences about who I send? I intend to punish Kurenai for disobeying me and provoking you very publicly, so she's out, but do you have any requests?"

"As long as she knows how to teach I don't really care. I can handle being pushed, Cloud-kun doesn't have the background for that." Cloud wished he could object, but Kurenai-sensei and the way he'd let her walk all over him had taught him that he really couldn't handle a demanding teacher - he supposed the taunts of the local bullies back in Nibelheim had been accurate, he wasn't much of a man after all. "Yuffie, how do you want to bed me?" The Empress almost flinched at that, before offering a hand to help Sephiroth-dono up.

"You really think that's necessary? Can't I just stay here for an hour or so?"

"I could tell what you'd been doing after you punished Ryoga..."

"And my other concubines might be able to tell, although I doubt it. Very well. Spooning should be the most comfortable for you. Cloud-kun, you need to change Sephiroth's bandages every hour for the rest of the day, so in thirty-five to forty minutes run a bath for him so he can soak the dressings off."

"Yes Empress. Ah...is changing the bandages so often about hiding how fast he heals?"

"Yes, it is. And Cloud-kun, just make it a warm bath this time."

"Yes Sephiroth-dono." He bowed and backed out, giving them some privacy while he got some more practise at writing Wutaian.

"So, how hard can I push you before you throw a temper tantrum Sephiroth-dono?" Botan's voice was almost mocking, but Sephiroth realised that she _wouldn't_ know the details of why he'd dealt with Kurenai as he had, and despite her age she might well have forgotten how effective he'd been in battle as a teen, or maybe even never known it.

"As hard as you need to." He met her eyes and kept his voice level as he responded, allowing a faint smile to curve his lips. "I seriously doubt you could train me to stumbling exhaustion, even with how much I've neglected my training since our Empress took the throne."

"Is that a challenge?"

"No Botan-san, a simple statement of fact. You won't be spending more than two hours a day here, at the very most. Even now I spend at least that much time training every day." Hojo had made him train for far longer than that as a child, usually until he _was_ exhausted and during the war he'd actually put his training to use as well as practising to keep up his skills.

"We'll see. Show me what you've got then." And that was his cue to draw his daggers and attack her. Sephiroth made sure to keep his speed down to something a human could handle, rather rely on the unnatural advantages Cloud would never have, but it was hard, and distracting. He still managed to impress Botan though, despite her blistering denunciation of his faults, and her demand that she should have a chance to assess Cloud's performance at regular intervals, to make sure he wasn't "screwing the poor kid's technique up the way someone screwed yours up."

"That's what you're here for, Botan-san, to help me break any bad habits of mine before I can pass then on to Cloud-kun. And as for a chance to assess his progress...I don't have a problem with that, as long as you stick to assessing his progress, and bother to praise him when he does well, rather than verbally degrading him and setting impossible targets."

"I won't be his teacher, so I won't have the authority to set targets. And I'll _know_ who to blame if he develops bad habits." Sephiroth could handle that - in fact he thought he liked the idea of being held responsible for Cloud's development, a nice break from the almost enforced idleness that his life in the harem had become.

"True. I can get him for your first assessment now if you'd like?"

"You would? Thank you Sephiroth-dono. How would you prefer me to do the assessments generally?"

"Hmm...Let me think about it. I'll tell you after you put Cloud-kun through his paces. With the understanding that if I tell you to back off then you _will_."

"Of course Sephiroth-dono." Botan sounded puzzled, and more than a little annoyed by the condition he put on her assessing Cloud, but after Kurenai he refused to trust any new trainer as easily as he'd allowed himself to trust her. And from the look in her eyes he thought Botan was beginning to suspect _why_ he'd, as she'd put it, 'thrown a temper tantrum' with Kurenai. He hated the fact that he couldn't trust Botan just because Yuffie had sent her, but he wasn't going to make the same mistake with her that he had with Kurenai.

He was gratified at how easily Cloud agreed to let Botan run him through his paces, and again by her approval afterwards.

"Sephiroth-dono, have you come to any conclusions about how you want me to do my assessments of Cloud-kun's progress?"

"I don't think it would be a good idea to have a regular schedule for them, _or_ for me to know when you'll be assessing him in advance, so shall we assume that you'll watch the first half hour of Cloud's lesson every day, and if you decide to leave early or to ask to see something specific that's your prerogative?"

"If that's what would make you comfortable Sephiroth-dono." Sephiroth nodded and she looked over at Cloud. "And if it wouldn't bother you Cloud-kun?"

"If Sephiroth-dono thinks it's a good idea then I don't have any problems with it Botan-san." Sephiroth smiled in appreciation of Cloud's trust in him, even as it disturbed him that his servant relied so heavily on his judgement without developing his own.

"Very well. I think an hour of training with me every day would be enough to eliminate your bad habits Sephiroth-dono. Unless you object we can start at the same time as we did today." Botan bowed slightly to Sephiroth when he didn't object to her suggestion, then she left and he focused on teaching Cloud.

A month later Sephiroth relaxed in a hot bath after Cloud's latest lesson, wondering why his servant had decided not to share it with him this time, but still enjoying the heat he knew that Cloud couldn't handle. The original lesson plan he'd agreed with Botan had rapidly morphed from a simple refinement of his skills and elimination of his bad habits with the paired daggers into a comprehensive review of how he used every weapon he'd been given when the war had ended and an intensive effort to bring his skills with those weapons to what Botan considered acceptable minimums. He wasn't sure precisely what group's minimums she was using, but he didn't think he really wanted to know, since it would either be a little insulting or somewhat intimidating, probably insulting and Botan was professional enough that he didn't want to argue with her.

It had just taken a week before Botan had decided that she only needed half an hour to work on correcting his bad habits and keeping him ahead of Cloud with the paired daggers and she'd suggested that he should bring one of his other weapons with him, besides Masamune, so that she could work on correcting his faults with those. So now he spent his first half hour training alone with Masamune, since he refused to neglect _that_, his primary weapon, then an hour with Botan working on whichever other weapon he'd brought with him, the naginata today, followed by half an hour on paired daggers, and finally he spent an hour training Cloud and running through drills with him. The training regime as a whole was beginning to make him feel really out of shape, especially with how badly he ached when, like today, he worked on the weapons most different from his sword.

He didn't get out until the water was starting to cool, and he froze in surprise when he walked back into his bedroom as the scent of cinnamon and coffee hit him.

"Cloud?" He forgot to use the suffix as he took in the sight of more than a dozen lit candles, the three lit braziers and the bottles of oil standing in a bowl of water, but his voice came out so faintly he wasn't entirely sure Cloud would be able to hear him at all.

"I wanted to help you relax Sephiroth-dono. You _never_ relax, the other servants have noticed it too, and you've been so good to me that I want to make you feel better. It's just a massage, and I know I'm not very good at them yet, but I'm not actively bad either, and Kouri-sempai says that there isn't really such a thing as a bad massage, not unless it hurts, and I don't think I could hurt you, could I?"

"No, not really Cloud-kun." He didn't show his amusement at how the usually quiet boy was babbling, but he offered an approving smile. "So, were you going to dry my hair first, or leave that for afterwards?"

"I was going to leave it, but I can do it first if you prefer Sephiroth-dono."

"Yes, I would prefer you to dry my hair first." This looked almost like a seduction, at least like the ones he'd read about, even if Cloud did claim it was just a massage, and if it turned that way he didn't want to have wet hair to make it less pleasant for Cloud. And he'd found it _very_ relaxing when Cloud dried his hair for him.

While Cloud got the comb and towels he'd need to dry his hair Sephiroth sat down, noting absently that Cloud had put a sheet or two of think, soft cotton over his bedcovers, as if he'd be the one washing them, or he wouldn't have time to change them.

Cloud would never tell Sephiroth-dono this, but he really enjoyed taking care of and playing with his hair, even if all Sephiroth-dono ever wanted was for him to dry it for him, and sometimes brush it out. It was so beautiful, and Cloud had never seen anything like the sweep of silver Sephiroth-dono's hair formed as it fell to almost touch the floor when it was dry. All the concubines and most of the servants in the harem kept their hair long, Cloud was even letting his own hair grow to fit in, but Sephiroth-dono's was the longest, and in Cloud's admittedly biased opinion the most beautiful.

He took his time over drying Sephiroth-dono's hair, making sure it was as dry as he could get it before he began combing it out, hoping the water he'd put the oil to warm in wouldn't cool off too much while he was working on this, but accepting that it probably would. Actually...Cloud paused when he thought Sephiroth's hair was dry enough to comb out, putting the towels down, but not picking up the comb.

"I'll just check the oil before I finish with your hair Sephiroth-dono."

"Very well." Cloud dipped a tentative finger in the water, it was almost cooled down to room temperature, so he took the bottles of oil out and went to replace the water with fresh hot water, and when he came back he found Sephiroth-dono lying face down on the bed, naked, his robe puddled on the floor beside the bed, and his head resting on folded arms.

"Sephiroth-dono?"

"You can comb my hair out just as easily with me like this." Cloud wasn't entirely sure of that, but he put the bowl of water back down and put the oil bottles back in to warm up again before he collected the comb and sat down on the side of the bed. It was surprisingly easy to comb Sephiroth-dono's hair out from this position, and once he'd got rid of the tangles Cloud braided it loosely and coiled the braid on the pillow beside Sephiroth-dono's head.

The oil was nicely warm when Cloud poured it into his hands, making the clove scent a lot stronger than it had been when he'd chosen this oil. But Sephiroth-dono didn't look as if he minded, and Cloud began working at his shoulders, straddling him at the waist and running his hands lightly over the other mans' back to coat it with oil before he did anything else.

"Ah, Sephiroth-dono?" He waited for his master to make a soft sound of acknowledgement before continuing. "I haven't actually had any practise at this, so I'll need a lot of feedback."

"I expected that you would. To start with use as much force as you can, and I'll tell you if you need to ease up."

"Yes Sephiroth-dono." He wasn't entirely sure about that, so his first few efforts were' quite as hard as he could manage, but he began pressing harder as he worked his way down Sephiroth-dono's back. He needed to shift his position a few times, moving further down Sephiroth-dono's body, then up as he went back to make another attempt at the more stubborn knots. Eventually he had to pause and work his hands for a moment to get rid of the cramps, only realising then that he'd gotten hard from the chance to touch Sephiroth-dono's perfect skin and explore his muscular back. He hesitated before he continued, and this time he tried to hide his arousal from Sephiroth-dono, but as he leaned forward Sephiroth-dono _moved_, somehow rolling to pin Cloud under his body, one hand gripping both his wrists before he could make a sound.

"Sephiroth-dono?" Cloud didn't try to hide his uncertainty, but he _knew_ that Sephiroth-dono wouldn't hurt him over this. When his master ran his free hand gently down over Cloud's body, coming to rest at his groin, a faintly curious look on his face he shivered in pleasure, and waited to see what he wanted.

"You're interested in me, sexually?"

"Ah...yes Sephiroth-dono. You've been so good to me, and you're beautiful. I wasn't going to say anything..." Cloud couldn't think of anything else to say, and waited for the inevitable rejection.

"Hmm. I trust you, and you are pretty." Sephiroth-dono let go of Cloud's wrists then, shifting above Cloud so that he wasn't pinned down quite so much - he thought he'd be able to wriggle out if he needed to. "Tell me if I hurt you, or if I do anything you don't want."

Cloud nodded, _knowing_ that Sephiroth-dono would stop at once if he asked him to, but too overwhelmed by the feel of his hands on his body to say anything. Sephiroth-dono ran his hands over Cloud's body as he kissed Cloud, running his tongue over Cloud's lips until he opened his mouth for him, and Cloud found himself moaning into Sephiroth-dono's mouth.

Sephiroth-dono's hands were under Cloud's tunic when the kiss ended and he sat up, pulling Cloud into his lap as he moved, shifting his kisses to Cloud's throat. Cloud didn't know what to do as Sephiroth-dono began playing with his nipples, settling for tilting his head back to offer better access and just moaning his pleasure. Then Sephiroth-dono stopped touching him, except for resting his hands at Cloud's waist and Cloud twisted around to look at him.

"Sephiroth-dono?" He didn't look entirely happy to hear Cloud using the suffix, but what did he expect? He hadn't given Cloud permission to dispense with it.

"You don't need to be so passive. You're quite welcome to touch me back, but first I'd like you to get undressed."

Cloud didn't really want to leave Sephiroth-dono's lap, but he had to so he could take his clothes off, which he did as quickly as he could, before coming back to straddle Sephiroth-dono's thighs, leaning forward to kiss him again, resting his hands at his waist. Sephiroth-dono ran one hand up his spine to cup the back of his head as he returned and dominated the kiss, and the other down his leg to the knee, then back up, this time stroking the _inside_ of Cloud's thigh - then skipping over his aching groin and pressing against the small of Cloud's back.

Cloud made a small sound of disappointment into Sephiroth-dono's mouth, and pressed closer to him, enjoying the feel of his cock brushing against Sephiroth-dono's as he moved his own hands to Sephiroth-dono's shoulders for a better grip. Sephiroth-dono _moved_ again, this time lying him down on the bed, and pressing one leg between Cloud's, and Cloud just clutched harder at Sephiroth-dono's shoulders.

"Just lie there for a moment Cloud-kun." Sephiroth-dono gently removed his hands, and Cloud hesitated before reaching down to stroke himself while Sephiroth-dono moved to pick up a bottle of oil.

"That looks good." Sephiroth-dono was pouring some of the oil on his hands as he spoke, then he moved to lie on top of Cloud again, not _quite_ pinning him, but enough to make Cloud feel oddly secure under the other man's weight. He kissed Cloud again, and Cloud reached up to rest his hands on Sephiroth-dono's waist, as he kissed him back. Sephiroth-dono reached down between their bodies, wrapping both their cocks in his hand pressing them together as he stroked them both. Cloud hadn't expected how good that would feel - his own hand had _never_ felt this good, and he hesitantly slid his own hands between their legs to wrap around their cocks, his hands working behind Sephiroth-dono's as the other man shifted to pay more attention to the heads of their cocks, rubbing his thumb over the head of Cloud's cock and shifting his kisses to Cloud's throat again, biting down ever so lightly.

Cloud came with a moan that drowned out Sephiroth-dono's softer sigh of pleasure as he climaxed too. Then Sephiroth-dono rolled them both over, lying back and letting Cloud rest on top of him, stroking his hair gently, eyes closed and a contented smile on his face. Cloud hesitated before reaching up to toy idly with Sephiroth-dono's nipples, feeling relieved to see that his master's hair was still clean and braided so that they wouldn't have to go to the trouble of washing and drying it again - Cloud's own hair was a _lot_ easier to deal with, at least for now so it didn't matter that Sephiroth-dono was getting oil and their mixed seed in it.

"Ah...Sephiroth-dono?" He shouldn't ask, but Kouri-sempai had told him a bit about what happened between two men when they'd seen Kaoru-kun limping around one day, and he hadn't mentioned anything like this.

"Yes Cloud-kun?"

"I thought you'd want to...well fuck me..."

"Maybe later. I don't know enough about how that works to try it with you. This seemed like a logical extension of masturbation, combined with some non-gender-specific foreplay." Sephiroth-dono frowned then. "I'll have to ask the Empress for literature about how sex between two men works, so she'll probably expect us to put a show on for her at some point based on things she's said in the past. Will that be a problem for you?"

Put on a show? What did Sephiroth-dono mean? The Empress wouldn't want to watch them having sex, would she? Although...he had heard men in Nibelheim talking about how they'd like to see two women together.

"Ah...I don't know. It would have to be something we'd done before and that I was comfortable with?" He couldn't quite believe he was putting conditions on his obedience to the Empress, but Sephiroth-dono had sounded almost as if he was asking for Cloud's consent.

"Yes, she'll understand that. Now, you need to get cleaned up before our meal is delivered." Sephiroth-dono released Cloud, letting him pull away and looking down at his own hands and body with a faint smile. "For that matter so do I."

**Note: For readers of my Cetra Restoration AU, I've started posting a new story called Arrangements, but I haven't had even one review on it yet. I would appreciate some feedback when I try moving outside the inner circle of characters.**


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